Week-ending 19 November 2021
On 17 November 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dmitry Muratov and the newspaper of which he is chief editor, Novaya gazeta, were fined for failing to label “foreign agents” that were mentioned in their news reporting. Mediazona reported that Muratov and Novaya gazeta were unaware of the hearing at Moscow’s Basmanny district court fining them 132,000 rubles ($1,800) for failing to identify two organisations they mentioned that are affiliated with Aleksei Navalny and have been designated ‘foreign agents.’ The Committee for the Protection of Journalists called on the Russian authorities to harassing Dmitry Muratov and to cease the practice of labelling news outlets and members of the press as ‘foreign agents.’
The Moscow Times, 18 November 2021: Russian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dmitry Muratov and his newspaper Novaya Gazeta have been fined for failing to properly label “foreign agents” mentioned in their news coverage, Russian media reported Wednesday. […] According to the Mediazona news website, Muratov and Novaya Gazeta were unaware of the Moscow court session fining them a total of 132,000 rubles ($1,800). Moscow’s Basmanny district court found Muratov and Novaya Gazeta guilty of failing to mention the “foreign agent” status of two groups affiliated with jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, Novaya Gazeta’s legal team told the ChTD Telegram news channel.
CPJ, 19 November 2021: Russian authorities should stop harassing journalist Dmitry Muratov and cease labelling news outlets and members of the press as “foreign agents,” the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Muratov and Philippine journalist Maria Ressa were jointly awarded the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize in October.
Other news:
RFE/RL, 18 November 2021: The Russian state media monitor Roskomnadzor has filed a lawsuit in a Moscow court seeking a 500,000-ruble ($6,800) fine against the news website The Insider, which was added to the country’s controversial registry of “foreign agents” in July. The case is over the lack of appropriate labeling of content on The Insider website, according to TASS, citing a source in the court. A court document cited by TASS is dated November 17. A hearing date has not been set.
